Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • Economic Inequality: Exploring our shared commitment to pursuing shalom

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to pursuing shalom. In this pursuit, we believe in seeking justice and sharing our resources, be they material, financial or spiritual. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways. In the April 2014 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, leaders from across our fellowship write about different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of economic inequality – and the ways we, as shalom-seeking followers of Christ, address the wealth gaps in our communities.

    Christian Equality – Utopia?

    We live in a fallen world. The world we live in is not the world God had anticipated. When we decided to sin, we chose our own way, our own lord and our own path that did not convey blessing to us or others. Nevertheless, God did not abandon this fallen world. He constantly attempts to redeem his creation, as the Scriptures attest throughout.

    As humans, we have to deal with two contradictory elements within us and within the structures we live in. Although we live in a fallen world, God´s image is not completely lost – there are elements of God´s good creation in us. On the other hand, our conscious decision to rebel against God and his purposes affected everything on earth. This means that all cultures on earth have elements that resemble God´s image in humankind, as well as elements of our fallen nature.

    As Christians, and Mennonites/Anabaptists, we have a strong spiritual heritage. Anabaptist groups were born in a time of crisis. Their search for a Christian life that resembled the early church in Acts certainly influenced their theology, since theology never develops in a vacuum. As was the case with the early church, early Anabaptist communities at large tried to diminish the economic inequalities within the church. The radical dimension of the “first love” could also be seen in the fact that the poor were cared for. The economical dimension was a means to an end – a tangible way of revealing Christ’s love.

    With time, though, turmoil decreased and Christianity became more world-friendly. Of course, Christians have always become more acculturated in the world, as is evident in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3. There, we see that dualism took over: If at the beginning most of culture was viewed as “wordly,” after some time the barriers came down and culture got good reviews.

    Something similar happened to the Anabaptist movements. The initial years of persecution gave way to tolerance and a certain distance from the world. This, however, did not avoid the inclinations of the flesh, which were influenced by a previous culture. The distance from the world created a false security – the world was far away and could not influence them.

    For the most part, Mennonites in Brazil do not live in colonies anymore. Capitalism and materialism have given rise to huge inequalities, which seem even stronger in the urban contexts. Brazilian Mennonites at large have been strongly influenced by the prevailing culture. Inequalities are as great in the church as in society.

    Mennonites came to Brazil from Russia as refugees, possessing virtually no material possessions. However, the desire to make things happen and the initial community spirit soon made them look for opportunities that would make an economic lift possible. It did not take long and soon most of them were doing better financially, due to hard work. Those whose situation did not improve were often accused of being lazy. With the church’s mission outreach, the inequalities got even worse. Many Brazilians live in very poor situations. Mennonite people compared themselves to these Brazilians with the remark: “We also did not have anything at first, and look at us today. It is clear that they do not want to have a better life.”

    Since the economy in Brazil has been growing in the last years, so has materialism among Mennonites. Individualism replaces community spirit and the inequality issue is hardly dealt with, even though it is before our own eyes. As a whole, Brazilians are able to see a mansion beside a slum and have no qualms about it. This lack of compassion has entered into the churches as well. Even social work was not something that was on the agenda of churches until a few years ago, due to fundamentalist influence and to a desire to distance themselves from the Catholic Church. Today, most Mennonite churches in Brazil at least speak of doing something for the poor. Some try to help individuals or groups with food, clothing or some other material aid. They try to meet some of the urgent needs, but inequality itself is rarely mentioned – as happens with culture at large.

    A few years back I was urged to speak at a family retreat about the simple lifestyle. While some people clearly reflected on the issue, the session did not lead to a discussion group nor to a consideration of practical issues. It seems we are not ready for that just yet – will we ever be?

    Arthur Dück is director and professor of intercultural studies at Faculdade Fidelis Christian College, a Mennonite Brethren educational institution in Curitiba, Brazil.

     

  • Economic Inequality: Exploring our shared commitment to pursuing shalom

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to pursuing shalom. In this pursuit, we believe in seeking justice and sharing our resources, be they material, financial or spiritual. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways. In the April 2014 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, leaders from across our fellowship write about different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of economic inequality – and the ways we, as shalom-seeking followers of Christ, address the wealth gaps in our communities.

    Repairing the Breach

    Lately on American television, there have been frequent commercials from North America-based organizations asking for money to fight world hunger. The commercials tug at your heart, featuring sad-looking children, most of them African. One commercial notes that 17,000 children die each day from hunger, which apparently works out to one every five seconds. It’s heart-rending.

    It’s also not the whole story. While hunger is certainly a problem in Africa, it often feels like these commercials ignore the issue of hunger right here in the United States and perpetuate stereotypes about “those poor people in Africa.” The United States is often described as the richest country in the world. So why, then, according to World Hunger Education Services, are 14.5 percent of households (or almost 49 million people) food insecure in the sense that at times “the food intake of household members was reduced and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money . . . for food”? How is it possible that one in seven people in the United States lives below the poverty line, including one out of every five children?

    These stark facts about hunger and poverty in the United States are even more disturbing when you also consider the following: in 2007, according to the U.S.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the top ten percent of Americans earned 47 percent of the income and held 74 percent of the wealth, and this gap has not shrunk in the years since 2007. Or this: Over the past 35 years, the income of the top one percent increased 201 percent, while the income of the middle 60 percent increased only 40 percent, according to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. It’s not that there isn’t enough wealth in the United States; it’s that it is unequally distributed – very unequally distributed.

    Citing statistics like the ones above, U.S. President Barack Obama noted in December 2013 that the increasing inequality in the United States “challenges the very essence of who we are as a people . . . the idea that a child may never be able to escape that poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care . . . that should offend all of us and it should compel us to action. We are a better country than this.”

    Why is there increasing economic inequality in the United States? The issue is complex with no easy answer to the question, but it seems clear that certain factors contribute to the problem. These factors include corporate business interests that take precedence over public policies that would be more just for everyone; fear of socialism and so-called “redistribution of wealth”; the belief that government needs to get out of the business of providing a safety net; and an attitude that people are poor because they have made bad choices and are not taking personal responsibility, and not because the system is often stacked against them. Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known more familiarly as food stamps) and long-term unemployment insurance, as well as an unwillingness on the part of some politicians to raise the minimum wage while simultaneously continuing tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations, are examples of policies that help to perpetuate inequality.

    Economic inequality is a significant challenge for the American church, and we have often responded well. Many Christians (and others) are personally very generous with their time and wealth, volunteering for and contributing to organizations that help needy people. Many congregations have developed their own ministries or participate in community ministries that serve people who are poor and/or hungry. Yet despite our best efforts, economic inequality continues. The gap between the rich and poor widens. Generosity and practicing the “pure religion” of James 1:27 (helping the widows and orphans in their distress) are important scriptural imperatives to follow. But so are the injunctions to “do justice” and to create social systems that do not oppress and trample the needy (see Micah 6:8 and Amos 2:6-7). In our current context of significant inequality in the United States and elsewhere, the words of Isaiah 58:6-7 should challenge us every day:

    Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to tell the oppressed to go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless into your house; when you seek the naked, to cover them?

    Isaiah goes on to promise that If we do these things, we will be called “repairers of the breach” and “restorers of streets to live in” – worthy goals to work toward in these days.

    Harriet Sider Bicksler is a member of the Grantham Brethren in Christ Church (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, USA) and editor of Shalom!, a quarterly Brethren in Christ publication on peace and justice issues.

  • Economic Inequality: Exploring our shared commitment to pursuing shalom

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to pursuing shalom. In this pursuit, we believe in seeking justice and sharing our resources, be they material, financial or spiritual. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways. In the April 2014 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, leaders from across our fellowship write about different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of economic inequality – and the ways we, as shalom-seeking followers of Christ, address the wealth gaps in our communities.

    An Open Hand, Not a Handout

    Portugal is a small country. Yet despite our size we have always had a fascination with growth and expansion. In the past, we took to the sea and found new countries and new ways to develop economically. That era of discovery and exploration made our country more international in its outlook. In fact, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to call Portugal the very first global country.

    But at one point in our history, Portugal simply stopped in time. Primarily, this occurred because of a dictator that “froze” our country – economically, politically, and socially – for more than 40 years.

    When Portugal won its freedom from dictatorial rule on 25 April 1974, the country expected that a new wave of development would come. Twelve years later, when we joined the European Union (EU), we immediately saw the benefits of that affiliation – new infrastructures were built, new employment opportunities arose, and new investments strengthened our economy. The time had come for Portugal to “catch up” with the rest of Europe.

    Unfortunately the politicians neglected to see the reverse of the development coin. Year after year the Portuguese government overspent its budget. Its debt grew so big that the EU, the European Bank and the International Monetary Fund had to intervene in the summer of 2011.

    Suddenly, Portugal’s economic foundations collapsed. The unemployment rate rose to 16 percent. (Recent figures put that number closer to 20 percent.) Emigration started again, mostly among the younger generations. The struggle to survive once again became a present reality.

    The Mennonite Brethren in Portugal started to see that reality in our own communities. We knew we had to respond in some way. One of the first things we did was ask our members to start bringing a gift every Sunday – small items that could be delivered to those in need. In addition, for the last few years we have received donations from Germany – mainly clothes, appliances and furniture as well as food. These donations provide yet another way to reach out to the poor around us.

    Yet we wanted to avoid the “easy thing” of just giving handouts. So in October 2013 we launched a thrift store – a small one but, through God’s help, one that continues to develop well. Located in a poverty-stricken community just outside the capitol of Lisbon, the store stocks the materials we receive from Germany and provides low-income people with the chance to purchase clothes and other goods at a symbolic price. We think it’s much more effective to have the customers pay even a small amount rather than just give the stuff away. And what we’ve found is that the customers, despite their financial problems, can afford to buy things.

    Even if someone doesn’t have the money, we still find ways to provide the dignity of exchange: they can bring a kilo of rice, a pack of spaghetti or another food item – for instance – to trade for what they need. In one instance, an extremely poor man who lives on the streets wanted to buy a coat, but he didn’t have the money at that point. We told him he could pay later, and gave him the coat. At the end of the month, he returned to the store to honor his commitment.

    In this way, we are teaching people to be responsible, even when they have to pay only small amounts.

    Another real impact of our little store is the opportunity it provides for witness. Customers are often impressed by the way we witness to God’s love. We have Christian literature free for anyone who comes to browse our shop, and occasionally we see members of the local community coming to our Sunday worship service. We find this is also a way for them to experience Christ. Maybe they can make a commitment to the Lord.

    Once a month we gather together with the local community for a meal. That day is special because we see people coming not only to have a substantial meal, but also to have the chance to listen to the Gospel for about 10-15 minutes. Strategically we conduct this preaching service between the main meal and the dessert: people have a brief “time out,” listen to the Word of God, and afterward enjoy a delicious treat.

    Our church community is made up of humble people. And yet because of our Anabaptist DNA – evident from the time the Mennonite Brethren work started in Portugal in 1984 – it’s very easy to mobilize our churches to extend love and bless those around us. It’s not a matter of doing good for charity’s sake. Instead, we act compassionately toward one another because we recognize that in God’s Kingdom we are all brothers and sisters – siblings who gather to praise God every Sunday, some wealthy and some penniless, but unified in Christ.

    That is why our Mennonite Brethren community is very involved, glad and willing to extend an open hand – not a handout – to support those in need. As a result, we see our churches growing and we see God teaching and impacting the lives of the Portuguese people.

    José Arrais is president of the Associação dos Irmãos Menonitas de Portugal (Association of Mennonite Brethren of Portugal).

     

  • Economic Inequality: Exploring our shared commitment to pursuing shalom

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to pursuing shalom. In this pursuit, we believe in seeking justice and sharing our resources, be they material, financial or spiritual. Yet our tremendous diversity means that we carry out this commitment in very different ways.

     

    Christian Equality – Utopia? (Arthur Dück, Brazil)

    As was the case with the early church, early Anabaptist communities at large tried to diminish the economic inequalities within the church. The radical dimension of the “first love” could also be seen in the fact that the poor were cared for. The economical dimension was a means to an end – a tangible way of revealing Christ’s love.

     

    Repairing the Breach (Harriet Sider Bicksler, USA)

    Economic inequality is a significant challenge for the American church, and we have often responded well. Many Christians (and others) are personally very generous with their time and wealth, volunteering for and contributing to organizations that help needy people. Yet despite our best efforts, economic inequality continues.

     

    A Mission Modeled on Christ (Bijoy K. Roul, India)

    There is no easy answer for the question of why the majority of a society often suffers from economic inequality. We have only a few theories in response. Of course, the factors vary from place to place, time to time, society to society. A driving factor in one place and situation may not be the same in another.

     

    An Open Hand, Not a Handout (José Arrais, Portugal)

    Suddenly, Portugal’s economic foundations collapsed. The unemployment rate rose to 16 percent. (Recent figures put that number closer to 20 percent.) Emigration started again, mostly among the younger generations. The struggle to survive once again became a present reality. The Mennonite Brethren in Portugal started to see that reality in our own communities. We knew we had to respond in some way.

     

  •  

    When Conrad Grebel baptized his friends in the evening of 25 January 1525 in Zurich, Switzerland, little did he know that this small act would mark the start of the worldwide family of faith that we now are as Mennonite World Conference. From Switzerland, the Anabaptist movement spread north, to Germany, France, and the Netherlands. After the debacle in Münster and under the leadership of Menno Simons, Mennonites migrated east to Prussia and later Russia and Ukraine. And even later still, Mennonites moved to North and South America, and then to all continents of the world.

    And everywhere in the old countries, groups of Mennonites stayed on. Today, there are very old congregations in France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland – MWC members since the very beginning.

    These old Mennonite churches carry the rich history and tradition of the Anabaptists and Mennonites of past centuries. Yet the old churches in Western Europe are going through hard times, this time not because of persecution but because of secularization. Membership drops and congregations disappear because there are not enough new members anymore. But although smaller in number, the churches remain faithful to their Mennonite and Anabaptist identity and to doing God’s work, each in their own context.

    The leaders of each national conference and their MWC General Council representatives meet every year to inform, to share and to discuss developments in their countries and in MWC. For the last few years also the younger Mennonite communities in the south of Europe – in Portugal, Spain and Italy specifically – have attended this meeting as well, along with representatives from Austrian and Bavarian conferences and some former Umsiedler communities. A new kind of cooperation in Mennonite Europe is emerging, where young and old communities learn from each other and inspire each other. The young churches are eager to learn about the roots of the Mennonites, the old churches are inspired by the mission, the liveliness and the new methods the younger churches bring.

    These developments have convinced the leaders of the importance of intensifying the contact between all European Mennonite churches, and of inviting more European Mennonite churches – such as those in  Ukraine and Belarus – to the table. That’s why after some years of discussion, they decided at their October 2013 meeting in Mainz, Germany, to appoint a European Mennonite Coordinator, starting in July 2014. Although not all conferences have yet decided on their level of support, leaders trust that there will be enough backing to finance this position at least for the coming years.

    This development is a clear sign of hope. The Mennonite communities in the European countries, although small, have a strong commitment to the Mennonite and Anabaptist tradition, identity and mission. Together – whether more conservative or more liberal, evangelical or pietistic – they are part of the global body of Christ. And working together, each from their own identity and with a wonderful mix of young and old, they learn from, inspire and support each other.

    Henk Stenvers (Netherlands) is secretary of the MWC Deacons Commission and general secretary / director of Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit (Dutch Mennonite Church).

     

  •  

    Christianity is experiencing rapid decline in Europe. We have gone in the past two or three generations from being an outwardly Christian culture, to something post-Christian. In general, statistics from Mennonite World Conference indicate that the evolution of the old Mennonite churches in Europe reflect this same tendency.

    One exception is the case of Spain, where in under forty years a new reality has come into being: a flourishing Anabaptist presence. We see this growth as a sovereign work of the Spirit that surpasses our own inadequate efforts.

    Our brothers and sisters in the old European Mennonite churches (those that originated in the sixteenth century) tell us that they find our reality encouraging and hopeful. We, on the other hand, value their centuries of faithfulness and feel honored when they keep us in mind for continent-wide activities and organizations.

    History

    The first documented activity of Mennonites in Spain occurred during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), when Mennonite Relief Committee sent several volunteers from the United States to participate in a program to feed child war refugees. The victory by the fascists faction, of National-Catholic ideology, effectively terminated Mennonite involvement in Spain at the end of the war.

    During the 1970s, it became possible to send missionaries to Spain. After consulting with leaders of the Spanish Protestant churches, Mennonite missionaries initially decided to cooperate with them instead of establishing yet another denomination in the country. The first missionaries, John and Bonnie Driver, were well received for the freshness of their deeply biblical message, with Anabaptist emphases that many young Evangelicals found especially exciting. The Drivers remained in Spain for 10-15 years, before returning to South America, where they climaxed a long missionary career.

    Meanwhile, the first Mennonite Church had come into being in Barcelona. The group that initiated it arrived from Brussels, Belgium, where they had migrated years before and where they had been worshiping with a Mennonite congregation at an American mission. José Luis Suárez gave initial leadership to this group, and was their pastor for many years until his retirement.

    Also during the 1970s an interesting development occurred in the city of Burgos. There, a movement of conversions among teenagers was taking place within the Catholic Church. With a strong component of music and the arts, plus communal life in shared households, this movement shook the whole city. John Driver was one of the many people they invited to speak in Burgos, and his approach to the teaching of Jesus caught the imagination of these young Christians.

    When three “elders” of the movement made a trip to the United States to visit radical Christian communities, they met Dionisio and Connie Byler of Argentina. They invited the Bylers to come to Burgos to continue the teaching ministry they had received from Driver. The Bylers have remained in Burgos since 1981, with the support of Mennonite Mission Network. In the mid-1990s, the group that started out as Catholic adopted a Mennonite identity.

    North American Brethren in Christ (BIC) missionaries Bruce and Merly Bundy arrived in Madrid in the 1990s, inaugurating another era of Anabaptist influence in the country. Through their efforts and the efforts of others, the BIC now have two churches in the Madrid area. More recently, Juan and Lucy Ferreira from Venezuela began a BIC work in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, which relates to the BIC churches of Madrid.

    Another effort developed early in the present century, when Organización Cristiana Amor Viviente – a MWC member church in Honduras – sent Antonio and Irma Montes to Spain to lead a missions effort. The fruits of their work include two churches in Catalonia and a small group in Madrid.

    Get-togethers and associations

    Since the 1980s these different groups in Spain – widely dispersed in cities that are far from each other – have made a point of getting to know each other and of cultivating jointly an Anabaptist or Mennonite identity. Since 1992, this relationship has been rooted in Encuentros Menonitas Españoles (EME – Spanish Mennonite Get-Togethers), which are held every two years.

    After a few years we organized as a fraternal association, called Anabautistas, Menonitas y Hermanos en Cristo – España (AMyHCE). As AMyHCE we participate in FEREDE, the association of Spanish Protestant churches (where we are known as one of the “denominational families” of Spanish Protestantism), and also in Mennonite World Conference. In MWC we are rather unique in having all of our churches, with their various connections with the historic Anabaptist denominations, participate jointly under this single representation.

    Finally, our Anabaptist/Mennonite identity has been strengthened through fraternization with old European Mennonite churches. In 2006, for instance, the European Mennonite Conference (MERK) was held in Barcelona, bringing together Mennonites from across the European continent for encouragement and discussion.

    Outstanding characteristics

    As this brief history indicates, one of the features of AMyHCE is our great diversity – diversity of connectedness to the different denominations of world Anabaptism, but also diversity of emphasis and practice, in spite of being small. For instance, in our communities it is possible to find typically Pentecostal practices, but also misgivings regarding emotionalism. Theologically, there are among us both Fundamentalist and Liberal tendencies, but neither are we lacking in an Anabaptist “third way,” which explores alternative ways of explaining Christian faith.

    Though few in numbers, our churches have not neglected service and missions. For years the congregation in Burgos was known for its center for rehabilitation of drug addicts, while the congregation in Barcelona operated homes for the elderly and the mentally handicapped. The Burgos church has established a home for children in the African nation of Benin, and a ministry with ex-child soldiers in Ivory Coast. This ministry in Africa is blessed by the support of other churches and individuals.

    Since our beginnings in the 1970s, there has been among us an important element of biblical and theological exploration in a Mennonite or Anabaptist mode, which finds expression in ministries of teaching and literature, in print and in the Internet. And since 2010, Dr. Antonio González – pastor of one of the BIC congregations – has worked with other Anabaptists in leading a small center for theological studies, Centro Teológico Koinonía (CTK, or Koinonia Theological Centre), which seeks to  train a new generation of leaders.

    Some other clearly Anabaptist emphases surface repeatedly in our communities:

    • The church as a close-knit, closely bonded family that practices mutual assistance.
    • Jesus as Teacher and example, as well as Savior and Lord
    • Nonviolence and objection to military service
    • A pragmatic – rather than dogmatic – theology: more interested in personally following Jesus than in theoretic affirmations about doctrine

    Looking ahead

    Some significant challenges face this new growth of Anabaptist/Mennonite Christianity in Spain.  In the next 10-15 years, most of our churches will face a significant generational relay in leadership. New leadership will arise, or else be imported from other churches. Will this second-generation leadership have a clear sense of identity beyond generic, Evangelical Christian identity? The creation of the CTK school hopes to contribute to the shape of the answer to that, but only the passing of time will truly answer the question.

    Additionally, Protestant Christianity in general, and Anabaptist/Mennonite Christianity as a form of non-Catholic Christianity, are relatively new arrivals in Spain. They have arrived, not coincidentally, in precisely the generation in which the Spanish people began to reconsider the ancient connection between Spanish identity and Roman Catholic religion. But the weakening hold of Catholicism over the Spanish people does not necessarily mean openness to other forms of Christianity. Rather, it is a sign of a Europe-wide trend to a post-Christian, profoundly atheistic way of understanding human existence. Superstition and silly credulity are on the rise.

    The prevalent culture is not necessarily hostile to Christianity, but it does find Christianity utterly uninteresting, perhaps embarrassingly primitive. The challenge for our churches – and sister churches of every other stripe – is to find a way to light the flame of interest, curiosity and commitment. Essentially, this constitutes a call for a church that overflows with the life and presence of the Spirit of God.

    We have no illusion of being able to kindle the flame of interest, conviction and passion for Christ, with our own witness or human resources. But we are of course committing our energies and resources to this end anyway. We do not live under the illusion that the fact of prayer generates a mechanically automatic response from God. Yet we redouble our commitment to prayer, beseeching God on our knees to pour out God´s Spirit upon this country.

    In the final analysis, this youngest shoot of Anabaptist/Mennonite Christianity in Europe shares with our older sister-churches of Anabaptist origins the reality that our very survival – not to mention propagation – depends most absolutely on the grace of God. Only the grace of God can grant us a future.

    Paradoxically, this is precisely the reason for our hope and confidence and faith for a future for our churches.

    Dionisio Byler is a writer and a teacher at the Protestant Faculty of Theology in El Escorial, near Madrid. He has been secretary of AMyHCE since its creation.

    On Being Anabaptist in Spain

    Agustín Melguizo
    Pastor, United Anabaptist Communities (Burgos)

    Some of the demands of Anabaptism have been accepted by most of the Evangelical churches which I relate to: for instance, separation of church and state and adult baptism. This implies [we are] living alongside of and in cooperation with different Christian churches, with which we have some differences, but also much in common.

    It also means [we need] to look at our environment in order to take the light of Jesus to anyone who is open to him and, with personal and community witness, present a conversion which involves all areas of life and also implies a lifelong discipleship.

    David Becerra
    Pastor, Barcelona Mennonite Church

    I am Mennonite because one day I discovered that the message and life of Jesus implies a radical nonviolence. Reading the gospel this way led me to be a conscientious objector to military service.

    I am Mennonite because one day the pastor of the Barcelona Mennonite Church knelt and unexpectedly washed my feet. This taught me the true measure of authority: to serve others (as a slave).

    In the Spanish context, to be Mennonite is to understand and live the gospel differently, focusing especially on Christ and his message of reconciliation.
     
    Antonio González
    Pastor and theologian, Brethren in Christ Church

    For me, to be Anabaptist in Spain is not a biographical coincidence, but rather an option. For a time, the Lord led me on a search for a true and radical model of Christianity. [Becoming Anabaptist] was not in the first place, then, a choice of a local church or of a denomination. My walk with the Lord (and without him) and my theological search led me to look for a closer connection with the community project which Jesus and the apostles sought.

    Undoubtedly, many of today’s Christians can also lay claim to a return to our origins. However, in that return they tend to forget some aspects of the message of Jesus, such as pacifism and the community dimension of faith, which are for me essential even though they have been forgotten by the main currents of Western Christianity.

     

  •  

    Threatened with death by a group of Freedom Fighters when he was 19, Danisa Ndlovu confesses to sensing that he may have been born “for such a time as this.”

    “For some reason I was singing a gospel song in a really loud voice that morning as I walked down to the river. When I realized there were fully armed militia right off the path, I just kept singing, although I knew I was in danger. I sensed that God was with me. And when the fighters ordered me to come into their circle and then began threatening me, I told them that they could kill me.”

    Fear took a backseat to faith that day in the young Zimbabwean.

    The moment became a touchstone for Danisa, who would become bishop of the Brethren in Christ Church of Zimbabwe in 2,000, when the country was burdened by scarcity of food and fuel, corruption and a seemingly uncaring government, an AIDS epidemic, and inflation of more than 1,000% a year.

    Despite these devastating circumstances, Danisa and the more than 29,000 other Brethren in Christ in Zimbabwe, invited Mennonite World Conference to hold its 2003 Assembly in the city of Bulawayo. “We needed the encouragement and comfort of our sisters and brothers from elsewhere in the world,” reflects Danisa now, as he anticipates “PA 2015,” the forthcoming MWC Assembly to be held in Harrisburg, PA, July 21-26, 2015.

    Early choices

    One of eight children, Danisa grew up mostly under the care of his grandmother, because both of his parents needed to have paying jobs. “My grandmother had a great influence on my life and faith. She took me to church and Sunday school, which have always been part of my life.”

    He went to Brethren in Christ primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe, and was baptized while in high school.

    But during his teen years, he went to live with his aunt in an area where there was no church. “I got involved with some boys. . . it was a kind of low point in my life. Yet in the mid-70s, after I went back home, I had such a hunger and thirst for God, I thought I might die.

    “We had itinerant evangelists then, and I asked my mother when the next one would be coming to our area. I really thought I couldn’t wait. I was experiencing a dryness, an absolute lack of hope.

    “When I rededicated my life to Christ on Good Friday in 1976, the evangelist asked me if I’d like to go to Bible school. When I told him that my parents had no resources, he asked me where Peter, the disciple, got money to pay his taxes. ‘From the mouth of a fish,’ I said.

    “He told me to go to Bible school, and I went without money. That experience taught me to pray. I established a place to pray. And the fees came through. And that’s how I’ve lived my life.

    Danisa expresses mistrust of the prosperity gospel. He says, “It promises that everything will be okay and fine. But that’s not true. There is a cost to following Christ. There will be sacrifice. Yet I’ve found that there will be enough to meet our needs.

    “When I finished Bible school, but without a clear sense of what I should do, I was very downhearted and felt so alone. I asked God to help me understand what was going on, and on one dark day in a park, I discovered Psalm 37:7 – ‘Be still before the Lord. . . and wait patiently for him.’

    “I jumped up, got my stuff, and went home, where I told everyone I was going to be an evangelist.

    “One minister told me I looked really small and really young, but I said, ‘I want to go.’ Eventually I joined a program where I ministered to and visited churches as an itinerant evangelist.

    “It was a tense time, and the country was volatile. The Freedom Fighters were always trying to recruit us. I prayed that if I was killed, there would be someone to replace me.

    “I felt God protected me. One day I was sitting by myself in a church. Suddenly, a group of soldiers marched in, all fully armed, while I was sitting alone reading my Bible. They could have tortured or interrogated me, but they just passed through, in one door and out the next. We never spoke.”

    Leadership influences

    Danisa not only learned faith and fearlessness as a young person, he also learned leadership. “Part of this came from training, part came from my observing others, and part came from consciously deciding what I wanted to be and do. My father was a community leader, and he influenced me.

    “When I was young and working at a Christian bookstore, the manager asked me, ‘Are you the son of an old man?’ I asked why he said that. He said, ‘The way you show respect, present yourself, and treat others makes me think that.’”

    During the harshest times in Zimbabwe, as he presided over the funerals of numerous AIDS victims and guided church members in finding homes for countless orphans, Danisa, along with his wife, Treziah, disciplined themselves to give thanks for whatever they could.

    The two had met at Bible school where both were students. “We had a serious relationship from the beginning, but we walked together for 11 years before we were married, because of getting our education and some family issues.

    “When I went through challenging, tense times as an evangelist, Treziah and my mom were praying for me. So we’ve had a similar journey of faith as a couple.”

    Danisa and Treziah are the parents of three young adult children – daughters Thinkgrace and Trustworthy, and son Devotion. “Their names reflect our gratitude and what we wanted to remember about what was happening in our lives when each one was born,” smiles Danisa.

    He has drawn strength and perspective from his family when life in Zimbabwe as a church leader has been nearly crushing. “Whenever I’m home, as often as possible, I sit in the evening with my family. We’re open with each other about what’s making us happy or unhappy. We sing together, review the day, and encourage or chide each other!

    “When I’m facing decisions, I tell my family what the various outcomes could be. This regular evening get-together I find to be very soothing and encouraging.”

    Choosing to be thankful

    Whether faced by imponderables in his country and home church, or the risks of planning an MWC Assembly in the U.S., Danisa takes the same approach. “For me, it’s a matter of trusting the promises of God and believing the Scriptures. We have not been told that all will be well. I have learned not to complain but to be thankful. Instead of asking, ‘Why, God?’ I give thanks for God’s love and presence.

    “I find power in thanking and praising rather than insisting on answers. There is power in believing that God is here with me. When I face challenges in my leadership, I choose not to focus on the things that drag me down. I focus on God’s power and say, ‘Walk with me.’ This is not denial, which is cancerous. I may not have the answers, but I believe God has the answers.”

    President of Mennonite World Conference since 2009, Danisa, on a recent trip to the U.S., spoke candidly but carefully about his hopes for PA 2015. “When the global church gathers next summer in Harrisburg, I’m hoping that the experience will be a window, an eye-opener, so all the churches who attend can see beyond themselves. We’re all tempted to believe that the church begins and ends with our particular group.

    “I observe that congregations in North America are comfortable and relaxed and seem to feel that they have everything pretty much under control. But as a global church, we’re a family. And so it’s not a question of some of us ‘having’ and others ‘not having.’ We belong to each other. We have relationships.”

    The gift of Mennonite World Conference

    Nothing, says Danisa, beats spending five and a half days together as a global family, in the “neutral space” that Mennonite World Conference offers during its Assemblies. No agency, no national church owns that space. It is a place where churches can address each other in true mutuality, while discerning, worshiping, serving, and fellowshipping together. Danisa attended his first MWC Assembly in 1984 in Strasbourg, France. He was the youngest member of the delegation from Zimbabwe.

    He looks forward to presiding over the PA 2015 Assembly, where a choir from Zimbabwe hopes to sing in the worship services. (“We’re praying that everyone will be granted a visa,” he says.)

    “An MWC Assembly is a gift to all of us. By being together, we will experience receiving each other. We are part of a living body, and we have to sometimes be in the same space so we can look each other in the eye. While we’re in each other’s presence, we wait for the other’s response. That is showing real interest. When we come together and make the effort to see and hear each other, we begin to sense the other’s deepest feelings.

    “The world is too small to live in isolation from each other – geographically and theologically. Each of the 101 national churches that are part of MWC brings its own particular self. Let’s appreciate our various traditions while we also work together.

    “In North America, the Lord has given you the privilege of having the world on your continent – with your great international diversity together within your churches. My hope is that PA 2015 makes the churches in North America want to work together more.

    “When we come together as Christ’s people, I should be able to plant my life in your life. That’s what it means to be vulnerable, to see the world differently, to belong to God and to each other as a family of faith.”

    Article by Phyllis Pellman Good of Lancaster, PA, a writer and editor for Mennonite World Conference. Photos by Merle Good

     

    Danisa Ndlovu

  • Power in Church Leadership: Exploring our shared commitment to doing church together

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to doing church together. We also acknowledge that the church needs leaders who take responsibility for guiding and shepherding the flock. Yet we know that in our diverse contexts of church leadership, power gets exercised in many different ways. In this issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, writers from across our fellowship discuss the different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of power in church leadership – the struggles and challenges, as well as the blessings and benefits.

    Not So With Us

    Less than two decades ago, Anabaptism emerged into Christian life in South Korea. In 1996, a group of like-minded Christians – sharing an emergent vision of Anabaptism – broke a long-term linkage with their mother churches, which were mostly Protestant. Having spent much time in intense Bible study and having done substantial research on church history and theology, they discovered what they wanted was to start a new church founded on the New Testament.

    Breaking with the mainline churches was one thing; starting a new church was quite another. Anabaptism’s reputation was still negative at that time, and so embracing its vision was like going against the tide of mainstream tradition. Even more counter-culturally, their goal was to go all the way back to the beginning of the first-century church!

    Since that time, the Anabaptist network in South Korea has grown gradually, as people are drawn to the fresh idea of what it means to be church.

    Some may ask: why did these like-minded individuals have to leave their home churches and start a new church movement? While many issues caused the separation, one of the key issues – perhaps the most crucial factor – was their understanding of the very nature of church. For them, the church was not an institutionalized denomination which itself creates an inevitably unequal power structure. Instead, they envisioned the church as the body of Christ, in which power is equitably shared among sisters and brothers.

    Power is something that human beings naturally desire. Throughout history, nobody has been free from the lure of power; even Jesus was tempted by Satan to use his power. Those within the church have likewise not been exempted; in fact, many church leaders are tempted to exercise their authority to rule over others.

    This is exactly what happened to Jesus’ disciples 2,000 years ago. They argued about who was the greatest among them. And two of them, James and John, more specifically requested special seats for themselves – one at the left and one at the right hand of Jesus in his glory (Mark 10:37). Even their mother wanted Jesus to give them power: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). Such requests troubled the other disciples and compeled them to act indignantly toward James and John. No wonder they argued about this issue!

    Ultimately, Jesus called them together and said: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).

    It is embarrassing to see that Christians at times seek power and fame to maintain the status quo. I say this not because I am better than others, but because I too am tempted by my inner self to seek worldly power, unless I am controlled by the Spirit of God. Unfortunately, too few people recognize the corrupting influence of power, and too few realize how such power can be misused by so-called “leaders” within the church.

    One likes to be called “leader.” We all have a tendency to ask for such a title – and for the power and fame that accompany it. But what we are trying to get is not the kind of power that the world teaches. Instead, we seek the power we receive from God when we are in weakness yet made alive by God’s empowering Spirit. This is the power to be a servant, not a leader. This is the power to be humble, not to control. This is the power to love our enemies, not to kill them. This is the power to lay down even our lives for others, just as our Lord came to give his life as a ransom for many.

    Let us not fall into the devil’s trap, in which we become convinced that we are receiving a reward from God just because we happen to be in a greater position. The cost of discipleship carries no such reward. Instead, it offers a cup and a cross: “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These belong to those for whom they have been prepared” (Mark 10:40).

    May God grant us the power to free ourselves from worldly expectations, and to rely on his power even in our weakness.

    Kyong-Jung Kim serves as the MWC Northeast Asia Regional Representative. Since 2004 he has served as director of the Korea Anabaptist Center, a ministry of the Anabaptist churches of South Korea.

     

  • Power in Church Leadership: Exploring our shared commitment to doing church together

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to doing church together. We also acknowledge that the church needs leaders who take responsibility for guiding and shepherding the flock. Yet we know that in our diverse contexts of church leadership, power gets exercised in many different ways. In this issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, writers from across our fellowship discuss the different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of power in church leadership – the struggles and challenges, as well as the blessings and benefits.

    A Blessing or a Curse?

    My earliest recollection of power in church leadership was observing the awe with which my pastor was held. At the beginning of a church service he and some others in leadership would not be visible in the auditorium; they would be in a backroom somewhere. Singing would start and then these leaders would file in, clutching their Bibles and hymnals under their armpits. At the end of the song the room would be quiet and expectant.

    Without conscious teaching on the matter, I somehow formed the opinion that a pastor was a holy man – closer to God than the rest of us. I noticed that even off the pulpit, if he expressed an opinion it was accepted without discussion or dispute. I listened to the adults around me and noted how they often quoted, “The pastor said…” It was as though the pastor was the final authority. I too learned to revere him and all the other pastors I knew.

    As I grew older and started reading the Bible on my own, I discovered a new intimacy with my creator. My understanding of God’s relationship to humanity underwent a massive shift – and as a result, so did my understanding of church leaders. Although I still esteem pastors as my spiritual leaders, I also realize that they are human and liable to all human weaknesses and faults, just like the rest of us.

    In my Christian walk I have worshiped God under the authority of many leaders. In the hierarchy structure of my church, Ibandla Labazalwane KuKristu eZimbabwe (Brethren in Christ Church in Zimbabwe), these leaders would include bishops, overseers, pastors and deacons. For this reason I have experienced as many leadership styles as the number of leaders who have ministered to me. From where I stand as a lay person, all leaders have power, and that power in leadership can either be positive or negative. The leaders – all of whom are fallible human beings – set the tone among those they lead by the way they wield their power.

    One positive use of power is obedience. Sometimes this exercise of power may mean leaving the known comfort zones by venturing into unknown new ground. For example, in the late 1960s, I was part of the Brethren in Christ youth group that used to meet at a rented women’s club in one of Bulawayo’s townships called Mpopoma. The group was started by Mr. Khono Ndlovu and Mrs. Abbie Dube (who for 13 years had served first as Sunday school teacher and later as superintendent). These two leaders sensed a gap between the children’s Sunday school age group and the young people of the church. The young people were now ready to explore a wider variety of topics than what was being addressed in Sunday school and they did not quite benefit fully from the predominantly adult-dominated worship services. To meet this need, the two leaders decided to create a forum for young people to meet, play games, sing and study the Bible together.

    Their vision spread to other Brethren in Christ congregations countrywide. Today, we have a recognized arm of the church in the Youths. Many from that pioneer group of young people are still in active church ministries. By obeying God’s call, these two leaders demonstrated positive power in leadership.

    Another positive use of power is in preparing for succession. Since I started having more interest in my church life, I have witnessed several leadership transitions in the offices of bishops, overseers and pastors. When the leader in the office grooms other potential leaders, the transition is smooth and effective. There would be several eligible candidates from which to choose when the right time comes. When this does not happen, it hurts the church. Every Moses should have a Joshua or two.

    By contrast, leaders who do not prepare for succession weaken the church. For instance, when a pastor remains in one congregation for several terms, he may be wielding a negative form of power. His decision represents a loss to the larger church body. If he has special gifts, they are only enjoyed by his congregation. Yet if he stepped down or moved on to another position, he would edify the body.

    Another area of potential leadership weakness which sometimes causes strife is in failing to recognize the gifts of others and failing to use them to build the body of the church. This year, one of our leaders, Mrs. Nellie Mlotshwa, celebrated her eightieth birthday. Her family threw a party for her, and many people belonging to the Brethren in Christ Church attended. At the party, speaker after speaker shared about how she had ministered to them and helped them discover their own potential. Leaders who have this gift and use it are truly blessed. The Lord’s work is so broad that all may have a slice.

    Sometimes issues of power in leadership do not manifest themselves as openly as do other simple matters of church life. They just defy discussion. The church in Zimbabwe, for instance, is rich with powerful women that God is using in amazing ways. In their own forums they are able to feed and grow the body of the church while very little attention is drawn to them. Some of these women are very gifted. Others have exceptional leadership qualities and are ably caring for their flocks.

    Even so, the Zimbabwe Brethren in Christ Church does not yet have any ordained women ministers. At times, questions have been raised about this situation. The general answer is that the women have not presented themselves or requested ordination. On the other hand, gifted men with leadership qualities find themselves asked to pastor congregations; eventually, they are licensed or ordained. In this situation one wonders who wields the power over whom?

    Leadership is power. Power is addictive. Once gained, power is a special gift to be shared meaningfully or relinquished humbly. Leaders are still strengthening or weakening the church by the way they lead. Some are daring to implement difficult decisions in order to heal or keep the church body healthy. Others take risks in making wise but unpopular decisions that lead to isolation or walking alone. Blessed are the leaders who recognize the source of their power and can balance their stand before God and humanity. Those are indeed powerful men and women.

    Doris Dube is an author, teacher, former MWC regional editor for Africa, contributor to the Africa volume of the Global Mennonite History Series and member of Ibandla LabaZalwane KuKristu eZimbabwe (Brethren in Christ Church in Zimbabwe).

     

  • Power in Church Leadership: Exploring our shared commitment to doing church together

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to doing church together. We also acknowledge that the church needs leaders who take responsibility for guiding and shepherding the flock. Yet we know that in our diverse contexts of church leadership, power gets exercised in many different ways. In this issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier, writers from across our fellowship discuss the different ways in which Anabaptists approach issues of power in church leadership – the struggles and challenges, as well as the blessings and benefits.

    Beyond Domination and Control

    Periodically, my shoulder is tapped to provide insight for local leaders, churches and Christian organizations about how to be more faithful in becoming a diverse and reconciled body as God intends. A few years ago, I would have responded by focusing my energies on reaffirming the scriptural vision of the New Testament Christian community, in which every barrier has been broken down, first among Jews and Gentiles, and therefore among every social barrier that exists, including our current racial divisions. I might have started by pointing out how Paul confronted Peter on this issue, or how Scripture portrays the radical implications of the Church as an ethnically diverse new society in which the old relational identities and networks are reconfigured because of the work of Jesus, and that the wall that divided us has been torn down, in and through God in Jesus Christ.

    Theologically, I still believe this to be the case. Yet that application seems to miss some of the specific historical and current forces at work in most American Churches – and these forces are very rarely addressed.

    Is it possible that our primary problem isn’t merely about cultural and ethnic division and difference in the United States? Is it possible that the real issue revolves around how power has been deployed historically among Christians in the church and within the larger society?

    In North America, the church has never thoroughly repented of (or turned away from) the racial domination that formed its practices and theology since the seventeenth century. Certainly slavery has been formally abolished, and as a practice thereafter has received a devastating stigma and a negative response from mainstream society at the very mention of the word. It takes no courage to look back at American (Christian) slave history from 1619-1865 A.D., while denouncing it as inconsistent with the way of Jesus.

    However, within most Christian communities, it continues to take significant conviction for those that gather under the Lordship of Jesus in the United States to speak patiently and truthfully in vulnerable conversation concerning the practices of white dominance. To the present day these practices have continued to be employed in and by the church, scandalizing its witness in the world. Slavery is gone, but the logics of racial reasoning that produced white dominance and control within Christian gatherings (and beyond its walls) have remained intact.

    We must ask why the North American church – including Anabaptism – has lacked the ability to understand the fact that racism is significantly a theology and discipleship concern, troubled by its deployment of power in the church and unconsciously justified through a racial gaze.

    Many Christian gatherings would love to have “diverse” communities, manifesting the reconciliation that God has accomplished in Jesus Christ. However, few churches have been willing to let go of the protected and concentrated power and control that run their communities. Essentially, when “diverse” people enter into these “welcoming” communities, they must convert theologically, culturally and socially to the set standards. As is often said, “The White way is the right way.” These standards are not pure Christian values untouched by societal and cultural norms. Nonetheless, they are often utilized and justified as such.

    Instead of practicing kenosis (Philemon 2:5-11), a self-emptying of power and entering into mutual vulnerability with racialized and oppressed Christians, in which an intimate encounter of mutual transformation can occur, the dominating and controlling group postures over others in dominance. The temptation has always been to error on holding the necessary power and control over racial minorities, which negates the possibility of the authentic reconciliation so often desired. Reconciliation is more than diverse bodies sharing space every Sunday morning. Where domination and “lording over” continues, no reconciliation has happened. When racial minorities that have historically been crushed and excluded by the practices of power within the church are not given a seat at the table, and when decision-making power is not vulnerably shared, no authentic reconciliation can happen. When the voice of the least powerful is not given priority, and the local body’s ears are not attuned to privileging their voice, the Kingdom of God is not reigning fully amongst us.

    To not account for the power dynamics at work in the racialization of our American Anabaptist communities is to misdiagnose why we fail to move beyond a gridlocked pattern of racial conformity in our society, with no witness to our yielding to God’s power in the midst of our human weakness in this area. In our American Anabaptist communities, we need to move beyond domination and control toward self-emptying solidarity and mutuality.

    The time has come to recalibrate our theology and practices so that we can more faithfully embody the way of Jesus in a racialized society. Our Anabaptist congregations are probably more prone than most to understand that we should not dominate or “lord over” others. Yet we need to actualize this theology in response to our white-dominated and -controlled churches and denominations.

    What would be the result of Anabaptist bookshelves and pulpits not being dominated by white authors and speakers, but fully embracing and wrestling with the entire gifting of the church, especially those that have been historically dominated and excluded? How might our churches make visible God’s reign before a watching world if it were to creatively follow the lead of non-white prophetic Christian movements comprised of the vulnerable and defenseless of our day?

    Could it be that our communal worship might be enriched by our daily solidarity and life together with people that have been systematically excluded racially? How might contemporary Anabaptism, which began in the sixteenth century as a visible gathering of disciples committed to following Jesus concretely as a predominately economically oppressed group, get renewed through a renouncing of white dominance, control and “lording over” others? How might it enter into vulnerable solidarity and mutuality with racially oppressed people? How might it seek the shalom and well being of those within and beyond our Christian communities?

    Drew G. I. Hart (drewgihart.com/) is a self-identified black Anabaptist, MennoNerds blogger and former pastor at Harrisburg Brethren in Christ Church (Pennsylvania, USA). He is also a doctoral student whose research focuses on black theology and Anabaptism.

     

  • Exploring our shared commitment to doing church together

    As a global communion of Anabaptist-related churches, we share a common commitment to doing church together. We also acknowledge that the church needs leaders who take responsibility for guiding and shepherding the flock. Yet we know that in our diverse contexts of church leadership, power gets exercised in many different ways. 

     

    Not So With Us (Kyong-Jung Kim, South Korea)

    Some may ask: why did these like-minded individuals have to leave their home churches and start a new church movement? While many issues caused the separation, one of the key issues – perhaps the most crucial factor – was their understanding of the very nature of church. For them, the church was not an institutionalized denomination which itself creates an inevitably unequal power structure. Instead, they envisioned the church as the body of Christ, in which power is equitably shared among sisters and brothers.

     

    A Blessing or a Curse? (Doris Dube, Zimbabwe)

    For this reason I have experienced as many leadership styles as the number of leaders who have ministered to me. From where I stand as a lay person, all leaders have power, and that power in leadership can either be positive or negative. The leaders – all of whom are fallible human beings – set the tone among those they lead by the way they wield their power.

     

    Beyond Domination and Control (Drew G. I. Hart, USA)

    We must ask why the North American church – including Anabaptism – has lacked the ability to understand the fact that racism is significantly a theology and discipleship concern, troubled by its deployment of power in the church and unconsciously justified through a racial gaze.

     

  • Today, our community of Anabaptist-related churches spans the globe, incorporating people from many different cultural, ethnic and political backgrounds. We are, without a doubt, a diverse community. Whenever we gather, we enjoy this diversity and feel enriched.

    Still, at times questions arise and we find ourselves irritated. Diversity is also a challenge! Are there limits to this diversity within our global Anabaptist family?

    In order to reflect on this challenge, it is necessary to first clarify our identity. This poses a challenge in itself! If we are to explain who we are, we usually tell our story. What are the “shoulders we stand on”? Even those Mennonite communities who do not trace back their genealogy to the European Anabaptists of the sixteenth century will refer to that particular history, because at some point they have adopted that story as part of their own identity. And even if we might relate to this history in a critical way, we still use it as a reference point in order to explain who we are and to seek orientation in today’s questions of identity and diversity.

    Early Anabaptism: Born in diversity

    Anabaptism has never been totally homogeneous. Diversity has been a challenge within the Anabaptist movement from its very beginnings in the Reformation era. This movement did not start with a single understanding of a new face of the church, but rather developed different ideas in the many struggles in various contexts of Europe. Slowly, uniting principles emerged and provided opportunities to strengthen each other over against the dominant church of the Middle Ages.

    While sharing the key insight of Reformers like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli – the conviction that we are saved by grace through faith alone – these Anabaptists embraced a more radical understanding of the church as a nonconformist faith-community of committed believers. The most obvious expression of that conviction was the believer’s baptism – a radical act based on an individual confession of faith, and made out of free choice. This emerging community rejected any state or church authority to prescribe a certain interpretation of faith. Instead, they opted for a non-hierarchical and non-credal model of “priesthood of all believers.”

    As the movement grew, it became obvious that only a congregational structure of the church would be appropriate. Without the top-down leadership of priests and bishops, the congregation would engage in joint Bible reading and the sharing of insights as a means to discern the will of God. How to follow Christ – as most clearly expressed in the Sermon of the Mount – became the primary concern.

    Claiming this freedom of conscience and of faith obviously posed a threat to the existing powers of church and state. Many of the first- and second-generation Anabaptists paid with their lives.

    A history of discord and schism

    All of this is part of our common story as Anabaptists. It shapes our identity as individuals and as congregations in different contexts, as well as our way of being church together.

    Yet even as the early Anabaptist movement knit together individuals and groups with varied yet complimentary ideas about how to practice Christian faith, disagreement occurred. Our story is also marked by discord and schism – difficult parts of our story to which we still need to relate. In retrospect, we might observe that such discord is quite contradictory to the faith claims made by our early brothers and sisters.

    For example, disputes about the appropriate amount of water to be used for baptism or the kind of music to be played in the worship service became reason enough to go separate ways and to condemn each other. Patriarchial behavior, the misuse of uncontrolled power and the victimization of individuals and the stigmatization of whole groups as “heretics” are all as much part of our story as they are for other churches.

    The inability to live up to the precious theological insights of the earliest Anabaptists can be quite disillusioning. While we continue to claim, as did our founders, that the congregational model with believers’ baptism at the centre provides the highest possible degree of diversity within church – since it puts so much trust and respect in the individual – it seems that we have continuously failed to prove its legitimacy and practicability.

    Diversity in contemporary Anabaptism

    Yet another identity marker of all churches of the Reformation is our common conviction that the church is semper reformanda, always to be reformed. We claim the liberty and the responsibility to renew the church in every generation, if that seems necessary and appropriate to new insights.

    Today, we find ourselves in the global community of Anabaptist-related churches, the Mennonite World Conference. It is here that we have learned to respect and value diversity. Different cultural expressions, manifold ethnic identities, contextual biblical readings and theologies and differing authentic ways of celebrating God’s love all constitute the richness of that community. We have learned to receive this diversity as a gift from God, since we understand now more than ever that diversity and unity are not contradictory but complementary dimensions of that one creative movement of God. MWC is first of all that space wherein we give thanks and enjoy that richness together.

    However, there is a risk that this celebration of diversity can become  quite superficial if we take a tourist-like approach – a “cheap unity.” As long as the diversity in the global family does not challenge the powers in the local church, it will be quite easy to accept all kinds of opinions.

    Are we ready to allow others within the global family to challenge our traditional way of believing? Are we ready to really tolerate (i.e., to bear with) the other? Would we really change a certain opinion or behavior, if the other feels offended by it?

    I envision MWC also as a space wherein we discern together the limits of our diversity, a space in which we hold each other accountable. That work might at times be difficult, frustrating, even painful. Still, if we are not ready for that challenge, we will miss the key to a true community of faith in Christ: a “costly unity.”

    Practicing diversity

    Of course, such sentiments – though profound – must also be practical. How do we navigate the complexities of diversity today? In other words, what does it look like to practice this process of mutual discernment about the limits of our diversity? How do we hold one another accountable?

    To answer such questions, it might be helpful to state two interrelated questions.

    What are the unity-threatening issues?

    How do we determine those issues on which we must stand united? For the prophets of the Old Testament, the limit of diversity was reached when a conviction or behavior led to blasphemy. Whenever someone questioned the uniqueness and unity of the One God – the God who liberated the people of Israel from bondage and slavery – the prophets called for a clear and unambiguous confession. The same is true for the New Testament accounts: whenever the Lordship of Christ was questioned, tolerance no longer seemed to be an option.

    In theological terms, this approach is called status confessionis, a situation when the confession to Christ itself is endangered. This was the case when the German Christians of the early twentieth century gave into the absolute authority claim of the Nazi regime, even in church affairs. In opposition, the emerging Confessing Church issued the Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934), in which they condemned the German Christians’ acquiescence to Nazi ideology and confessed the inalienable lordship of Christ as the sole head of the church.

    How do we deal with these unity-threatening issues?

    Today, Mennonites are well known and respected as one of the historic peace churches. In facing challenges of diversity within the church, this nonviolent approach to conflict resolution has been a leading principle from the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement. Yet we certainly cannot claim to be experts in mediation when it comes to internal conflicts. Still, I want to believe in the wisdom and potential of that identity marker. If we hold on to that key conviction that Jesus called all his disciples to be peacemakers and to seek first for the righteousness of the kingdom, then this characteristic of being a church of just peace has to inform our methodology of going about our own differences.

    Primary questions to be asked in a conflict would then be:

    • Is the topic at stake really a question of status confessionis, or can we tolerate (bear with) the fact that the other also claims to be in line with what Scripture tells them?
    • What is the perspective of the most vulnerable or discriminated ones in this matter?
    • Are we victimizing anyone in the conflict and, if so, how can we cease such victimization?
    • Are we inappropriately presenting ourselves as victims in this conflict and, if so, how can we take a more appropriate route
    • Are we paying respect to the fact that everyone involved is and remains indestructibly created in the image of God, even if our opinions or behaviors differ?

    I want to believe that the church of just peace implies a profoundly humble approach: always to differentiate the absolute truth, which is only in God, from all our approximations to that truth. If we add that humbleness to our ambitious way of being a church of just peace, not only can the credibility of our peace witness grow, but we will also discover anew Christ´s ability to tolerate (bear) our diversities.

    The worshipping community, gathered in God’s name, remains to be the ultimate space for mutual accountability. MWC has the potential to grow into such a community.

    Fernando Enns is director of the Institute for Peace Church Theology at the University of Hamburg (Germany), and professor of peace (theology and ethics) at the Free University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands).